1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a stabilizer system for an offshore wellhead and conductor pipe. It also includes a method for driving anchor piles into a subsea land formation.
2. General Discussion of Background of the Invention
In drilling an offshore well, a standing conductor is provided through which subterranean fluids move to the surface of the water. The conductor supports a wellhead above the surface of the water, the wellhead helping control movement of fluid from the conductor. In some cases a platform is erected around the conductor and wellhead to support and protect it, but in other cases a protective caisson, having a typical diameter of 48 or 60 inches, is placed around the original conductor and driven to refusal into the mud at the bottom of the body of water. The latter method of protection employing the protective caisson results in what is known as a well protector, and it significantly increases the cost of installing the well. The well protector is, however, necessary in protecting the well against winds, stormy seas and other environmental factors that might impart destabilizing forces to the well.